1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to certain new and useful protective guards for use with swimming pools and structural components associated therewith, and more particularly to an inflatable edge guard which extends around the edge of a pool deck adjacent a swimming pool and around edge and corner portions of the components used at or in a swimming pool to preclude contact with edges and corners and thereby prevent resultant injury to a swimmer.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
It is well known that children and even adults oftentimes scrape parts of their body when engaging the edge of a pool deck. Oftentimes, and particularly, children will attempt to climb out of a swimming pool using the edge of the deck for support. In so doing, it is common place for these children to scratch and abrade arms and legs and the like.
While the scratches and abrasions which may result from engagement of a pool deck at the edge thereof are not usually of a serious nature, there have been many occasions in which children and even adults will accidentally knock a portion of their body into the edge of the pool deck. Chipping of a tooth and head injuries oftentimes can result from any inadvertence in attempting to climb out of a swimming pool or merely playing in the swimming pool adjacent the edge thereof at the deck.
The above and other injuries could easily be avoided by the provision of some form of protective guard which extends around the periphery of the swimming pool deck at the edge thereof and around the structural components such as ladders and diving boards. However, heretofore, there has not been any effective swimming pool protective guard which is portable and relatively low in cost but which is highly effective in precluding injuries which are often occasioned at the edge of a swimming pool deck.
The same problems which arise when a swimmer contacts an edge of a pool deck can arise as easily when the swimmer contacts a component of that pool and particularly, the so-called "structural components" which include, for example, a ladder which is secured to the deck and extends into the water, steps forming part of that pool base, a diving board and like components or members. In this case, swimmers often swim into and contact the edges of the rungs of a ladder or the poles supporting the rungs. If the poles should have any sharp edges, or even corner portions, the swimmer can easily be injured. In like manner, the rungs of the steps are almost always formed with corner portions which can easily cause injury if inadvertently contacted. The same holds true with edges of diving boards, steps and like components.
Heretofore, there has not been any effective protective inflatable guard which is relatively low in cost, but which can be used on the pool structural components and which are effective in precluding injuries often occasioned when a swimmer inadvertently contacts these components.